Top Sportsbooks have released their odds for Sunday’s upcoming NASCAR event that will take place on Michigan’s blazing fast speedway.
For reasons that I will explain, you should invest in one driver to win and back other drivers while fading different drivers in the various kinds of bets that you can find on the sports betting sites. Here is all of the information that you’ll want to know for the race and all of the information that you’ll need to know in order to profit from this event.
Sunday, August 22, 2021 – 3:00 PM ET at Michigan International Speedway
The FireKeepers Casino 400 continues this upcoming Sunday as the next racing event in the NASCAR Cup Series. For this racing event, drivers must complete a total of 200 laps. As has been the norm all season, despite a couple of exceptions, there will be a total of three stages for this race. Stage one requires 60 laps. Stage two likewise consists of 60 laps. Stage three requires drivers to complete 80 more laps.
As in previous weeks, an entry list has been published. 37 drivers/teams are listed and these are the drivers/teams that will compete in this race, barring any unforeseen circumstances. Since this is a historically well-known track for active NASCAR Cup Series competitors, there will be neither qualifying nor practice for this race.
Without any qualifying round taking place, a predetermined formula will establish the order in Sunday’s starting lineup. Conventionally, the starting lineup gets released every Wednesday morning.
While NASCAR fans think of fast tracks, their minds automatically rush to the historically most well-known racing events at Daytona and Talladega. But actually, Michigan’s track is known for being the fastest one that the NASCAR Cup Series currently has to offer on its circuit.
Several different features and dimensions of this track help explain why drivers are able to reach such high speeds on it. For starters, Michigan’s international speedway boasts wide corners. Tighter corners can present traffic-related issues because drivers have to slow down a bit in order to maintain control over their cars as they try to rush around the corners. This reduction in speed allows other drivers to catch up while others remain on the turn, which gradually gains in congestion.
When the corners are wide, drivers can navigate them with more room and therefore with less deterrence from other drivers. Michigan’s international speedway also benefits from a nice level of banking, especially on the turns. Higher banking — on turns or on other parts of the track — encourages drivers to collect more speed especially as they proceed on the higher-banked corners. At Michigan’s track, each turn is banked at 18 degrees.
Moreover, the start/finish is banked at an extraordinarily high 12 degrees. The backstretch is also banked at a very high five degrees. Another feature that allows Michigan’s speedway to earn its reputation as a uniquely fast course is its long straightaways. Drivers are able to build up more speed on long straightaways on which they do not have to press the brake pedal as they do in order to navigate a turn while still properly handling their car.
We’ve already experienced plenty of other NASCAR Cup Series tracks. Already the level of banking on the front- and backstretch is worth highlighting for being uniquely high. Know for your best bets that the speed and wideness of the track should make it easier for drivers to play catch-up if necessary. On this track, each lap lasts two miles. So in completing 200 laps, drivers will have accumulated 400 miles.
With your sports betting in mind, be sure to avoid investing in Alex Bowman at all costs. It is probably true that you weren’t going to consider him to win this race, anyways, because he is for good reason not such a household name in NASCAR. But be sure to look out for him in the available match-up betting options, when they surface. He is definitely worth fading because, as measured by average finishing position, the Michigan International Speedway is his 24th worst out of 30 racing tracks in which he’s competed for NASCAR.
At Michigan, his average finishing position is 25.45, which is over five spots worse than his average starting position. This disparity means that he continually finishes well worse than where he starts, a trend that is worth keeping in mind when you see in which position he starts. In his career, he’s never finished better than 10th at this track. He has, however, finished 30th or worse in five of 11 career races here.
Two of the more well-known drivers in Michigan who have recently fared meaningfully worse than other well-known drivers are Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski. Both of these guys pale in comparison to drivers like Kevin Harvick in terms of what position they’ve recently finished in at this track. Take it into consideration for your betting odds.
I like Kyle Larson the most. Larson ranks atop the standings right now because he’s been exceptionally fast really throughout this entire season. I believe it makes the most sense to invest in the fastest guy at a fast course. At this track, Larson finished third last year. He’ll perform better here this year as a consequence of his overall superiority this season relative to other drivers and relative to himself in previous years.
Two weeks ago, he won yet another race this season. One should view him as the top candidate to win on Sunday. For the above reasons, rely on Kyle Larson for your NASCAR picks.
Best Bet: Kyle Larson to Win (+175) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.